And we're big believers in having a plan. A little local knowledge, the right reservation and knowing where you're going can turn a good vacation into a much better one.
But some of the best parts of Cabo have a habit of showing up between the plans.
A recommendation from someone you just met. A taco place you weren't looking for. A road you hadn't planned to take. An extra hour at the marina because the conversation was too good to leave.
That's a different kind of Cabo experience.
And you can't always reserve it in advance.
Leave a little room in the day.
It's tempting to fill every hour of a trip before the plane ever lands.
Fishing in the morning. Lunch at noon. ATVs at three. Dinner at seven. Sunset somewhere in between.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Cabo has an incredible amount to do, and sometimes the only way to fit everything in is to plan it.
But leave a little room too.
Because Cabo has a way of changing the plan.
Maybe somebody tells you about a beach you hadn't considered. Maybe lunch lasts longer than expected because nobody wants to leave the table. Maybe you meet someone who tells you about something happening that afternoon.
You don't have to abandon the plan.
Just give Cabo enough space to surprise you.
Ask another question.
One of the easiest ways to experience more of a place doesn't cost anything.
Get curious.
When someone recommends a restaurant, don't stop at “Is it good?”
Instead of only asking: “Where should we eat?”
Try: “Where do you eat?”
Instead of only: “What's the best beach?”
Ask: “Where would you go if you had the afternoon off?”
And instead of only asking a captain: “Where are the fish?”
Ask: “What do you love about fishing here?”
That extra question can change the conversation.
And sometimes the conversation changes the day.
The best photo here may eventually be something wonderfully ordinary: a marina conversation, a roadside stop, a table full of food or one of those moments nobody planned.Follow the recommendation.
Travel has become very good at telling us what everybody else already likes.
Reviews, rankings, lists and social media can be incredibly useful. We use them too.
But there is another kind of recommendation.
The bartender who tells you where he goes after work. The captain who knows where to get breakfast before the marina gets busy. The person at the next table who has been coming to Cabo for twenty years.
Those recommendations aren't always famous.
That's often the point.
Go back somewhere twice.
There is a funny pressure when traveling to constantly find something new.
New restaurant. New beach. New bar. New activity.
But sometimes going back is how a destination starts feeling like a place.
Go back to the taco stand you liked. Say hello to the same bartender. Walk the marina again. Order the thing you saw somebody else eating yesterday.
Recognition changes an experience.
A place can start feeling familiar surprisingly quickly.
Cabo is more than one Cabo.
The luxury resorts are Cabo.
The yachts are Cabo.
Championship golf is Cabo.
So are the taco stands, fishing boats, desert roads, ranches, neighborhood restaurants, beaches and families whose lives are connected to this peninsula.
You don't have to choose between the polished side of Cabo and the local side of Cabo.
They're part of the same place.
Have the beautiful dinner. Charter the yacht. Play the oceanfront golf course.
And then take somebody's recommendation for tacos tomorrow.
That's not a contradiction.
That's Cabo.
Let somebody who knows the place help.
Local knowledge isn't valuable because someone can give you a longer list of things to do.
The internet already has plenty of lists.
It's valuable because the right person can listen to what you're actually looking for and help point you in the right direction.
Maybe you want adventure. Maybe you want quiet. Maybe you're traveling with kids. Maybe you're celebrating something. Maybe you have absolutely no idea what you want to do tomorrow.
That's okay.
Start with the kind of day you want.
The rest can come from there.
Do Cabo your way.
That's really what all of this comes back to.
There isn't one correct Cabo vacation.
Some people want sunrise on a fishing boat. Some want a yacht and a bottle of champagne. Some want golf. Some want tacos. Some want the desert. Some want to sit by the pool and do absolutely nothing for an afternoon.
And some of us want a little bit of all of it.
Plan the things worth planning.
Then leave enough room for the place — and the people — to become part of the trip.
You may come home talking about the adventure you booked.
But don't be surprised if the story you keep telling is the one nobody planned.